Boxes
by fanficReider
Summary: Emily's decision to leave is made final. No one's happy about her choice, especially Morgan. He decides to help Emily finish packing for London, knowing that once she's made up her mind, it's final, and he ends up doing a little more than just saying goodbye. MorganxPrentiss one-shot fluff.


Boxes

"_Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship, never," Charles C. Colton_

* * *

Emily stood in her doorway, her pale arms folded over her chest. She impatiently tapped her foot on the worn concrete step beneath her, waiting.

"_He was supposed to be here five minutes ago," _she thought with annoyance, but it wasn't like she didn't think this could happen. Derek had volunteered to help Emily finish packing a few of her belongings, and make sure everything was good to go for Emily's big move to London. Her decision to leave was made final when she handed in her resignation papers to Hotch the previous week. She swore to everyone on the team that she'd keep in touch, and that they'd all have to get together from time to time. Still, they all couldn't help but feel that a chunk of them was missing. The person hit the most by this was Morgan, though he did very well at keeping it from everyone else.

In his silver car, his hands were tightly gripping the steering wheel. He felt helpless at trying to get Emily to stay. In fact, he didn't even bother persuading her otherwise, knowing how stubborn she is when it comes to making decisions. All he could do is spend as much time with her as he could while she was still here in the States. He eventually made his way to Emily's large, modernized home. He pulled over on the side of the street and parked in front of her paved walkway. He could see the grin on Emily's face.

"Sorry I'm late!" he called out as he stepped out of his car and walked towards Emily.

"It's fine. I should be used to this from you," she said, suppressing a laugh. She met Morgan halfway between her door and his car, and surprised him with a hug. As quick as it came though, it was over, and Morgan was left standing in front of his ex-partner. "Thanks for coming, Morgan," she said with a warm smile and a hand on his firm shoulder. He nodded, smiling outwardly, but his heart aching on the inside. He was helping her leave; leave the team; leave him. They both walked into her house, and Morgan found himself overwhelmed by the towers of cardboard boxes that stood in front on him; most of the boxes were filled and taped shut.

"Whoa," he commented on the boxes.

"Trust me; it looks worse than it actually is," Emily replied, knowing what he was referring to.

"So… uh… What's left for me to help out with?" he asked, putting his thumbs through the belt loops of his dark cargo pants.

"Well, there are a lot of books that need to be packed," she started.

"I bet Reid would be able to read them all quicker than I can pack them," Morgan guessed without a doubt, drawing a chuckle from Emily.

"Probably," she responded while she handed Morgan an empty box. "Here, I'll show you where they are." She led Morgan to her study, where one large bookcase stood by itself. Every shelf was jammed with books; all varying in size and color.

"Didn't know you were so interested in reading," Morgan commented.

"It's kind of relaxing, and after tough cases, a book and a glass of wine are perfect for taking your mind off things," she said. Morgan nodded and understood how that could help. "If you need more boxes, you know where to find them," Emily stated before leaving Morgan alone.

He started with the top shelf, carefully pulling out the books one by one, taking the time to look at their titles. By the books, it seemed that Emily was interested in a vast variety of things; anything ranging from religion, to crime and police factoids, to Roman history. Somehow, it didn't surprise him; Emily was full of all sorts of mysteries.

By the end of a half an hour or so, Morgan had finished packing all of the books, managing to squeeze them into two large boxes. He was certainly glad for the invention of duct tape when it was time to shut the containers, worrying the books would rebel and free themselves from their confinement. Emily walked in on Derek taping the last box shut.

"That one looks like it wants to explode," she commented from behind him, startling the grown man ever so slightly.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Morgan replied with a chuckle. "What's next?" he asked as he turned himself around.

"Hmm… let's see. I think that's pretty much it. I was able to finish boxing my clothing and bedding, and I already had most of my things packed yesterday," Emily informed with a nod, double checking in her mind to make sure she was correct.

"I see. You never told us what day you were leaving," Morgan prompted.

"I'm officially flying out on Saturday," she answered. Morgan's eyes widened.

"That's only in two days. Why so quick to leave?" he asked; a hint of hurt in his words. She didn't answer, and stood in silence, her eyes going somewhere else.

"I don't know," she finally said.

"Oh come on, you must have some idea," Morgan said loudly, his eyebrows furrowed.

"They want me in London as soon as possible. You should be glad I convinced them to let me stay as long as I am," she defended with frustration. Morgan's muscles relaxed subtly at Emily's tone.

"I… I didn't know," he said as a way of an apology.

"Yeah," she replied while she crossed her arms and turned her head away. The two adults stood in silence.

"I'm sorry for snapping," Morgan piped up after some time. "It's just that your decision kinda… caught me off balance… No one likes that you're leaving."

"I know that. I thought I already told you though; it doesn't feel right here anymore. Not after Doyle," she shook her head. The rims of her eyes welled with tears ready to leak onto her cheeks. In the instant Morgan noticed the threatening tears, he pulled Emily into an embrace; it felt like the only thing he could do. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," they both whispered in sync. They looked each other in the eyes. Emily could see the hurt in Morgan's eyes, and he could see the conflict in her's. He then held her at a distance.

"I'm gonna miss you Emily," he whispered. Emily tried to pull on a smile as she replied quietly,

"Me too." She quickly wiped away the moistness from her eyes and then smiled. "Maybe we can get together tomorrow? All of us?" Morgan shook his head.

"We've gotta work, and I highly doubt Straus will let us take the day off." Emily nodded, washing the smile from her face.

"Right," she said disappointedly. "I _will_ keep in touch," she stated after a moment.

"You better," Morgan teased. Emily laughed in response.

"I'll make sure of it." Morgan took a quick glance at his watch.

"Crap, it's already nine," he said in dismay.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"I have to go," he simply replied. He started making his way to the front door, knowing that Emily was following him every step of the way.

"Why?" she asked with curiosity. Morgan had opened the door and took two steps outside. They could both hear the light drizzle coming down to Earth from the over-hanging clouds above. He didn't say anything as he quickly spun around. In one swift movement, he cupped her pale face with his hands, and ever so gently did he press his lips against hers. Emily stood, her eyes wide open, and her face flushed. He pulled away and then whispered quietly in her ear.

"Goodbye Emily." He then stepped out into the rain, and soon enough reached his car, and drove away. Emily stood on her concrete step, dumbfounded and her heart pounding crazily, meanwhile a damp Morgan was driving, and he found himself on the verge of tears.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked this short MorganxEmily fic! It was pretty easy for me to write this, considering this is one of my favorite pairings :) Sorry I haven't been posting very frequently. I've got stuff going on, and in a month I'm going to be starting my freshmen year in high school O^O' Anyway, I've also got a major case of writer's block. It sucks… Moving on!**

**Feel free to leave me any stories you'd like to see; One-shots or long-fics! I'd love to hear what you think about these one-shots I've been writing lately. Thanks to everyone that reads! I really appreciate it. Hopefully I'll talk to you guys soon! Bye :)**


End file.
